Bed Bug Blog

NORTH ADAMS -- North Adams Housing Authority officials say they have a so-called infestation of bed bugs at the high-rise and low-rise apartments under control, having taken multiple steps to educate the residents about the problem and eliminate the bugs.

"We’re taking a very proactive approach to this," Jennifer Hohn, the housing authority’s interim executive director, said Tuesday. "We have contained the problem to a very small area at both apartment buildings and have had extermination services in place for some time."

Problems at the senior housing complexes, located at 150 Ashland St. and 45 Spring St., are believed to have started several months ago when a tenant brought a used mattress into their home.

"We’ve stressed to our tenants that they need to make us aware of things like this," Hohn said. "We weren’t informed of the problem at first because the tenant thought it was because of unsanitary conditions. It has nothing to do with someone not being clean or unsanitary. Five-star hotels have problems with bed bugs. We’ve also advised our residents not to take anything out of the dumpsters -- no matter what condition it is in."

Beg bugs are small insects that feed on human blood and are known for living in mattresses and furniture. The insects usually feed in the early morning hours.

She said the issue, which has been identified and contained in each building, has been "blown out of proportion" by former tenants.
"If you talk with any public housing agency, I believe you would be hard-pressed to find one that hasn’t dealt with bed bugs in recent years," Hohn said. "It has nothing to do with cleanliness."

On Friday, the housing authority sponsored an educational meeting for tenants with Cat’s Eye Exterminators.

"We had about 30 tenants attend the meeting," she said. "The exterminators, who we contract with, provided preventative information about bed bugs and gave advice and procedures on what to do in an instance of infestation. It really put our residents at ease -- some were very frightened."


Author: Jennifer Huberdeau